Here you will find the Ramblings of an overly enthusiastic, overly stressed, and overly verbose Mad Stitcher. I will be sharing my thoughts on life, stitching, books, travels and generally anything that pops into my mind. You will also be able to read my little stories. I love to write short stories of all types and will enjoy sharing them with you here.
Come join me for a laugh or two and maybe a tear or two as well.

Monday, October 21, 2013

I finished up the consignment and yes, you guessed it...I forgot to take a photo of it before I mailed it off to it's owner! I cannot believe I did that. My only excuse is that I was trying to get it into today's mail and rushed to get it in the mailbox. Oh well..It was a still life by Norman Rockwell which had been turned into cross stitch. I was solidly stitched with over 16,000 stitches! But it turned out really well.

I am now working on my next model so it will be a while before I have any stitching to show unless I take a break to work on one of my WIP. Which I may do since I may take one with me to the beach. Is is November yet? Almost!

My latest read is a series by Jenna Bennett. I bought the complete collection of the Savannah Martin Mysteries and have gotten through the first two of them (there are seven). So far it has been very enjoyable.

#1 A Cutthroat BusinessDescription:

Everyone has warned new-minted realtor Savannah Martin that real estate
is a cutthroat business. But Savannah doesn't think she's supposed to
take the warning literally ... until an early morning phone call sends
her to an empty house on the 'bad' side of town, where she finds herself
standing over the butchered body of a competitor, face to face with the
boy her mother always warned her about.

Rafe Collier is six
feet three inches of testosterone and trouble; tall, dark, and
dangerous, with a murky past and no future--not the kind of guy a
perfect Southern Belle should want to tangle with. In any way. But
wherever Savannah turns, there he is, and making no bones about what he
wants from her.

Now Savannah must figure out who killed real
estate queen Brenda Puckett, make a success of her new career, and avoid
getting killed--or kissed--by Rafe, all before the money in her savings
account runs out and she has to go back to selling make-up at the mall.

# 2 Hot Property

Description:

When Savannah Martin's fellow Realtor and friend Lila Vaughn is robbed
during an open house, Savannah rushes to the rescue with tea and
sympathy, or at least a really good lunch and a shoulder to cry on.
However, Lila seems more peeved than distraught, and her main gripe is
that the sexy robber who tied her to a kitchen chair--for her own
good--didn't follow her suggestion to tie her to the bed instead.

Lila's
description of the man fits Savannah's old school-mate Rafael Collier
to a T. Rafe has recently turned up in Savannah's life again, and he
isn't above doing a little breaking and entering. Metro Nashville
Homicide Detective Tamara Grimaldi is of the same opinion, and when Lila
turns up dead, tied to her bed and strangled, Rafe becomes a suspect.
Now Savannah must get busy finding the real murderer before Detective
Grimaldi can arrest the wrong man.My Thoughts:

So far this has not been disappointing. I have enjoyed getting to know Savannah and her friends. The first book is quite good but the second book is even better than the first and I think it will just keep getting better as the series progresses. It is well written and the character development is well constructed. The only problem I have is with Savannah's attitude towards Todd but I am not going to spoil it for you. You'll know what I mean when you read it for yourself! :)~ (teasing!) I am looking forward to continuing this series. I am having trouble putting it down each night.Until next time...

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

I am still waiting for my model to be framed and I am very antsy! I cannot wait to see how Peggy framed it for me. I am letting her choose the frame for me this time as I had to send the piece through the mail. I trust her completely and know she will do a great job. The consigned piece is almost finished and I do hope the owner likes it. I will get a photo of it when I get it completed. Shouldn't be too much longer.I just realized it is only three weeks until our annual trip to Myrtle Beach! Kiki, Angel and I will be going for sure. Jeannie and Ester are not getting to attend this year. I wasn't sure I would either but thanks once again to Kiki I will be be there. We will be leaving on November 8th and returning on the 12th. Kiki will be coming here on the 7th and spending the night and then will stay over again on the 12th so she doesn't have to drive so much in one day. I really can't wait. I have been very isolated this year and just want to get away from this house for a few days--see the world, smell the sea air, hear the waves, experience life!I will save my next book review for another day.

Wednesday, October 09, 2013

I finished my model! Yeah! so now I have to get it to the framers so I can get the photograph done and the chart printed. I am thinking maybe a November 15th release (fingers crossed) so keep checking out Lady K Needlearts for all the latest updates on the design works.I will be starting a consignment piece shortly then on to my next model.As I stated in my last post, when I finished reading Front Page Fatality I couldn't wait to read the next book in the series so I downloaded Buried Leads into my Kindle and began reading right away. The author is LynDee Walker and she is a very talented writer.

Description:

When an Armani-clad corpse turns up in the woods, crime reporter
Nichelle Clarke smells a scoop. A little digging, and Nichelle uncovers a
web of corruption that stretches all the way to Washington, D.C.
Politics. Murder. And a dead lobbyist. It's everything Nichelle's ever
dreamed of.The cops are playing it close, the feds even closer,
and Nichelle’s afraid her boss will assign the story to the political
desk any day. Richmond’s new ATF SuperCop makes an arrest before she can
say “Louboutin,” but Nichelle’s gut says he’s got the wrong guy.Her
sexy Mafia boss friend warns her off the case, her TV rival is hot on
her designer heels, an ambitious copy editor wants her beat, and victims
are piling up faster than she can track them down. As Nichelle zeroes
in on the truth, it’ll take some fancy footwork to nab this headline
before the killer nabs her.

My Thoughts:

Well, I certainly was not disappointed. This book was very smartly written and had a clever plot with a surprise ending. I love Nicey's character. She is strong willed and stubborn but classy as she winds her way through clues in her fabulous stilettos. The complexity of the her character and the interpersonal relationships with the other characters makes this series a joy to read. I highly recommend it.Until next time...

Friday, October 04, 2013

I cannot believe it is October already! Where has this year gone? The days are getting shorter and cooler and I am catching my breath! I am still working madly to finish my model. I had hoped to have a release date of October 15th but that isn't going to happen so I will just keep plugging along as quickly as I can. My son is working hard and has just seen his new schedule which includes the peak season hours--Christmas will be here before we know it and he is gearing up.I have been trying to read a bit each day and am still keeping it a bit light as I want to relax and wind down at the end of the day. I will get back to my thrillers once my deadlines have been met. My most recent book is titled Front Page Fatality by LynDee Walker.Description:

Crime reporter Nichelle Clarke’s days can flip from macabre to comical
with a beep of her police scanner. Then an ordinary accident story turns
extraordinary when evidence goes missing, a prosecutor vanishes, and a
sexy Mafia boss shows up with the headline tip of a lifetime. As
Nichelle gets closer to the truth, her story gets more dangerous. Armed
with a notebook, a hunch, and her favorite stilettos, Nichelle races to
splash these shady dealings across the front page before this deadline
becomes her last.

My Thoughts:

This book is very enjoyable. It is written by a former journalist who knows the ins and outs of the newspaper business so it is very informative and intelligently written. There are some very humorous scenes so be prepared to laugh but it is also a well written murder mystery with lots of twists and turns. I cannot wait to see what Nicey gets into next!Until next time...

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About Me

I am a retired nurse that has become a professional stitcher. I model stitch for several well known designers as well as doing consignment stitching. I have recently begun my own design company--Lady K Needlearts-- and have several cross stitch designs available. I am a widow and have an adult son who is the light of my life.

Stitched Needlework Art & Consignment Pieces

SPECIAL ORDER only!

The MadStitcher now offers consignment stitching and Needlework Art pieces for sale. Needlework Art is completely stitched, but not framed or finished needlework design pieces, unless otherwise noted. These are heirloom quality needlework pieces which are stitched on high quality fabrics.

The pieces are ready to frame or finish. They can be taken to your local needlework shop or frame shop for appropriate finishing. All pieces will come to you with a list of suggestions and ideas for finishing and/or displaying the piece.

All will arrive with a certificate stating the design name, company name, the designers name, who stitched the piece and the year purchased.

*** Consignment pieces will not be stitched until ordered with a 1/2 of the price down payment, which can be made by cashier's check, money order or by using PayPal. The pieces will take anywhere from 2-9 months to stitch. Please ask for length of stitching time estimates. You may make payments each month based upon the estimated time for stitching, again please ask for details. Payment if full is expected before the piece is mailed.

Once an order has been placed, the first payment has to be made before the stitching will commence. The first payment is for buying the stitching supplies and therefore is non-refundable unless agreed to by me and a 10% cancellation fee will be applied.

Personalizing pieces such as wedding samplers, birth samplers and Christmas Stockings, are included in the cost. However, if other pieces are personalized an extra charge will be added. Finishing is also extra. No framing will be done.

Samplers which normally have the needle workers initials and the date stitched will be stitched using the initials of the stitcher and the date completed.

For pricing and more information about consignment stitching please email me at kathy@madstitcher.com.